Steve Rustad illuminates issues and dissects politics

Yet again, Obama (the Magnificent) proves that he can't be trusted in the company of despots and dictators. Yet, the media will hail him as a peace-maker and, if he hadn't already received one Nobel Prize (presumably for being an African-American elected President since he hadn't done anything else), the [...]

All the posturing about immigrants, immigration, immigration reform makes me ill. Like most of us, I'm descended from immigrants, in my case Norwegian, French-Canadian, Irish and God knows what else. I firmly believe that, since the Pilgrims landed, anyone with and get-up-and-go...got up and came this country to find work [...]

Historically, when the word "growth" has been uttered in the local cloisters of power, it's usually been coupled with other words such as "surgical removal," or "over our dead bodies." Lip service is given plenty to "increasing revenues," but given the progressive bias for regressive taxation, intrusive regulation and hectoring [...]

I've had a number of discussions recently about Presidential abuse of recess appointments. It seems that, no matter who occupies the Oval office, the members of the opposing team are outraged (OUTRAGED, DO YOU HEAR) at the perceived threat to our democracy, violation of the fundamental principal of the separation [...]

When the issue of the Keller street garage's plague of flying rats (aka, the dove of peace, squab, pigeons) resurfaced, hizzoner was contacted to comment. Giving da mayah any kind of public forum invites the world to view the most prominent symptom of our fair burg's dysfunction. Suffice it to say that his [...]

Perhaps the title should be Omission instead of Commission, given the propensity of some of the members to do almost anything but make productive contributions to the planning process. John and Chris have asked me to be "nice," so I won't tee off on the City Council, or share my thoughts as to why the Planning Commission is dysfunctional. Suffice it to say, look at how they were appointed.
Oh, BTW - in response to those you who consider my Lowe's cartoon to be anti-Semitic, you should look up the definition of the word. The mention of Passover, Jews, or Hebrews is not - in and of itself - anti-Semitic. And there's nothing in my attached commentary that is anti-Semitic. On the contrary, I'm highly respectful of the Jewish tradition, have attended numerous Seders and, for several years, was married to a woman of the Jewish faith.

The Regency Center (Target) is still being delayed after years of stalling, foot-dragging, and outright obfuscation on the part of the City abetted by a tiny (but vocal) cohort of NIMBY activists who cloak their selfishness in civic pride. Now the Deer Creek project (Lowes) is entering into that same ever-mutating cycle of abuse, e.g., the review and (dis)approval process. Why any business person would want to engage with a community that so-reviles commerce is beyond me. Maybe the City mothers and fathers could hire the Disney folks to run the City as an amusement park called NIMBYLAND. Think of the rides: The Road to Nowhere, Legal Limbo, The Incredible Expanding Fee...

City Manager John Brown is yelling from the rooftops that the City has about a year before fiscal Armageddon. Is anyone listening? Last year, Mayor Glass-Half-Full promised that, "Revenues will come," without actually saying from where. Since then, when he's not intimidating City staff, his "revenue-generating-efforts seem to have focused on stalling the Deercreek shopping center, now that that the Regency Center is has been delayed yet another year, if not longer.

From his latest budget proposal, it's apparent that Obama-the-Magnificent didn't pay attention in high school Econ. His "cut backs" amount to an "air haircut." Those of you old enough to remember barbers, will recall how they would repeatedly snap their scissors trimming microscopic ends from your hair. Well, that's how the Spender-In-Chief has pared his package of fiscal woe to our future generations.